4 Key Elements of a Powerful Story

Hey, this is Mike Koenigsen. You are one connection away, one relationship away from having or doing anything you want. But one thing you need is a great story, a great way to hook someone and get the world to understand who you are and why they should know you. And you are going to meet Justin Breen, and we're going to go through a system and a process he uses. In fact, the four key things that all great entrepreneurs have to make their stories awesome. Justin, why should someone listen to or watch this episode?

Well, Mike, you're a tremendous podcast host, and I think listeners are going to hear you at your rawest and at your best.

Well, thank you for that. So here's what I can promise you. When you listen to you watch this episode, you're going to get some really, really great ideas on how to get the best version of you out in the world. I learned a ton in this episode. Justin dropped some huge value bombs. He'll also help you identify your personal perfect client and how to connect with them on the deepest level possible. So all that in this episode of Capability Amplifier, something big that you shared with me that changed the way I market.

Are you ready to sell your franchise and what is its true value in the marketplace?

It results in happier people, happier Mike, happier wife, happier life, and low aggravation.

So, again, talk is meaningless without execution.

Are you willing to receive all that the universe wants to give to you? Ladies and gentlemen, let's get going.

So how did you get introduced to storytelling media and really figure out what your gift is and being able to listen and grab a hook? Because I know one of the things that you're able to do is listen to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, book and nail it, and then figure out how to package that and get it out really quickly. And then you've got a really great strategic mind and you know who to reach out to. Very similar in some ways to how when Tim Ferriss launched the four hour Workweek, like he went out, he figured out how to customize a story for every journalist and pitch, pitch, pitch. And suddenly everyone knew who Tim Ferriss was and everyone wanted to talk about him. And being able to create that cascade of interest is a true gift. So what's your response to that one?

Well, one, thank you. I mean, I appreciate it. I can barely tie my shoes. If my kids ask me to, you know, put a bike helmet on them or, like, do a puzzle with them, I'm like, please, I can't, you know, ask your mom. I've broken. I'VE broken the laundry machine. I just broke it again yesterday. So I think I've broken it six or seven times now since we've gotten it. I'm a one implementer. But like at this, like, it's just, you know, I was just born with this. I mean, you know, people are born with certain gifts and I don't know, I can just, I can just hear people talking. And then, you know, as a journalist, I wrote two to three stories on deadline every day for 20 years. So I can just hear, like you said, blah, blah, blah, and then immediately know what is a good story. And then, you know, 20, 30 minutes later, here's the story, here you go. I mean, and me again, because I was born with a story and most of my days talking to people like you. And when I was a journalist, I never understood if it bleeds, it leads. I never understood negative news. As a journalist, I would just do stories about cool people changing the world. So my firm now is about stories about cool people changing the world. So I can just hear what actually matters know immediately and then just simplify it and then intro, intro, intro. It's just easy, easy for me.

Okay, that makes sense. I mean, so what I really hear there is you put in the hard work 20 years, you know what gets clicks, you know what gets opens, and someone had to say, you know what, that story sucks. Just go back and do it again.

Right, well, so here's, you know, so one, thanks for saying that too.

Yet I make the same mistake once. So if someone says, oh, that's not good, I just don't do it again. And it's really interesting because on ideation, on my strength finders, most, most of the folks I talk to are like you. They're very high in ideation and futuristic. I'm almost dead last in both of those. But if I have a good idea, my top three are activate, maximize, achieve. So result, result, result.

And.

And because it's so low on ideation, I think that's actually a strength because I know if it's a good idea right away. And then it'll be activate, maximize, achieve. And then I partner with a lot of ideators who are like, idea, idea, idea, idea, idea, and they're all over the place. And then my brain is like, no, no, no, yes, that's good. Do that one. And then simplify it. It just works like that. Good collaboration.

Okay, so let's do two things. First of all, I want to reveal.

Something big that you shared with me that changed the way I market and it was so stupid, obvious, and I can't believe I didn't notice it, even though I did. And then if you. So I'm going to set this up and say, can't wait to hear this, Mike.

This will be interesting.

Yeah, yeah, no, here's what it was.

If you market, sell, try to convince, influence people, and it just doesn't work. And you're like, God, you're just frustrated, or you find that there are people who are just like, impossible to close, or they. They ask a billion questions and you're frustrated and you walk away angry and aggravated. And I have a new law in my life, which is if I feel my aggravation scale exceed 5%, it's a hard no. Okay, so that's a new rule I've installed now. I'm. I'm so much happier. But it actually stemmed from you telling me early on you said, oh, I only work with Colby quick starts that are eight nines or tens. And my initial reaction is, holy cow, that there might. There can't be that many, that you're limiting your market. And then I thought, and I. And one of the things that we started doing like three years ago is every single person we work with, I always do their Colby score because I know how to adjust my speaking behavior and how I teach, educate, and deliver based on that. It also determines what I'm capable of doing with them. And I look back at every, what I would say, pain in the ass, bad customer I've ever had or people I don't like to talk to. And there are super high fact finders.

Yep. I am too, by the way. I'm an eight fact finder.

Right. But I would argue, like, for example, I'm a 329 5.

Oh, you're one away from my son. He's a 329 6. How about that?

Okay. Yeah. And so that. And I would say, like, dealing with low follow through people can also be a big pain in the ass. But I've adapted my behavior to take advantage of that and treat it like a skill, which means I get stuff done now. So I never have a tail. So I call it. Right. So I call it small container, short tail. So I'm. Yeah, isn't that good? So it just means when I do something, I get it done all at once. So there isn't any follow through, follow up required. And it results in happier people, happier Mike, happier wife, happier life, and low aggravation. Okay, so my question for you, Justin, is where did this notion, clear understanding of only Working with Quick Start 8, nines and tens come from.

Yeah, that's an interesting question. And, you know, I've been an entrepreneur for four and a half years, and I think. Actually, I know. I think what my greatest skill now is seeing the patterns in things and then actually doing something about it. I did not know that was a skill when I started this journey. I had no idea. I mean, I was a journalist for 20 years. There was no intent ever to be in. There was no intent ever to be an entrepreneur. And just very quickly, I started my first company. After my job salary was cut in half, I couldn't find a job. Reached out to 5,000 people to find first five clients while I was working full time and half the salary. Okay, so that was. That was a little over four and a half years ago. Okay. So what has happened is.

I can just see the patterns, and then because I'm Activate, Maximize, Achieve, I'll actually do something about it. But I see the patterns, and I'll make a very slight amendment because I'm a seven. Quick start. I'm a seven. And I have found that 7, 8, 9, 10s, those. Those are the folks 99% of the time that are my partners with my firm. And here's the other interesting thing, Mike, that I know you will find fascinating is the percentage of the time when they're under a seven. And really, the seven is the dividing line between someone who actually will do something and someone who asks the same questions and never actually. They don't. They don't do anything. And that's fine. I just can't. I mean, like, it's too frustrating. But the folks under the seven, if they actually do something, they're partnering with someone who's over a seven. They have someone who's like, what are you doing? Just. Just do it.

Yeah, okay. That makes total sense.

Okay, right? Yeah, it makes sense. So now here's where my fact finder. I'm an eight fact finder. But I know that even though you're lower than that, you'll appreciate this because this dovetails on the Colby High quickstart. The overwhelming majority of the folks that I partner with are futuristic. And you are the ultimate example of this. They're futuristic ideators who have some type of Activate, Maximize, Achieve blended in in their top five strength. So they're living off in whatever land you're living in future ideator land, but you'll actually do something about it in the present. Okay. And again, I'm almost dead last in futuristic ideation. I don't I have very few good ideas. My good ideas come from people like you. And then if I do have a good one, I'll do it. And then, and then my brain can simplify all that futuristic ideation with a mix of I'll actually do something about it now, and then simplify and activate it. Okay, then here's the other thing, is the print P, R, I, N T. That's the unconscious motivators. Unconscious motivators. I'm an 8 3. So 8 is to be strong and self reliant. 3 is to succeed and achieve. And we're both in strategic coach. I was talking to Shannon Waller about it. She's a high level in strategic coach. And she's like, yeah, most of the folks in Free zone, they're eight threes or three eights. They don't think about it, they just don't feel it. Just execute, execute. So I don't know if you've taken it yet, but if you do, if you're not an 8:3, I mean, I'd be, I'd be flabbergasted if you were not in it, I'd be shocked. But it's unconscious, so it's harder to predict. So most of the posts I partner with are if they take it, they're an 8.3 or 3.8. Okay.

And I actually have the test ready to go. I started doing it and I didn't finish. So I will make sure I finish it today as soon as we're done with our interview.

I can't wait to see that, because that's what I mean. Like, I can blend those three things and I can just see the pattern and I'll just do it. I'll do something about it.

Yeah. So that makes a ton of sense. Because what I will say about Colby inside of this is, number one.

Knowing what I am. And again, what I found is the more you know yourself, the Colby becomes tendencies, not absolutes. So you learn to accommodate your score and then find workarounds for who you are. So in My case, being a 329 5, that basically means my 3 is fact finder. I just know yes or no. Like, if something's gonna work, and I have a rule set in my head, I don't need a lot of data to make up my mind. And like you, I can analyze a tremendous amount of information and create connections that are not recognizable by most people. I would say that that's, you know, I can operate with my instincts, my gut, but it really has to do with large Pattern recognition, that's my observation.

And seeing it in other people, 100% agree. And you're an activator maximizer. Those are your top two, I think. So you'll do it very quickly. Yeah. Right.

So then the follow through, follow up, as I was telling you pre recording is I just get stuff done all at once and that way I don't have any follow through, follow up required and I make sure that the next step that has to be taken is on someone else. And I surround myself with implementers and high fact finders. Now high fact finders drive me nuts, but they're the best people to be around someone like me because they need to know the whole picture. And I've learned now how to communicate with them to get a lot done. Which means what I do most of the time is I don't like managing people in real time and I don't like managing people, period. But I make lots of videos and I create transcripts in real time. So I just think of everything that I want done. The outcome, result, benefit. Right. Make a list, record and then send that off to my team. It's super efficient. No meetings required. I can literally go two or three weeks without talking to anyone because I just say here's what needs to be done. And that overcomes the follow up, follow through. It's how I communicate most effectively. And I do instant communication, meaning I use text, I don't like email, I don't like systems, I don't know how to run a project management system. Don't want to hate that stuff. Right, right. And then the so 3, 2, 9, obviously quick start, meaning I know what to do, do it. And then five, sometimes it's got me in trouble, which is from an execution implementation. I found that oftentimes the funnest people to work with are low implementers because they're like. And they know it. So they're like, I know I need you to get stuff done. So it makes, you know. So a high quick start, low implementer and low fact finder is ideal.

But in my case, what the being a 5 has enabled me to do is I pretty much know how to do anything and I can figure it out and I'll always be above average at implementing, but I also know my limitations. That's what wisdom and history has created. So now.

I'll I can figure out what to do enough to figure out how to automate it, mechanize it and communicate it to someone. It also prevents me from getting screwed because I know if someone's lying to me, and I can catch them fast before it turns into a multimillion dollar problem. Yeah, now, that doesn't happen all the time. I just had. I had a major screw happen recently that's, like, really irksome, you know, a $30,000 theft. You know, it was. And I didn't see it happening. I didn't see it coming. And it was, you know, but in general. But it was something that I wasn't monitoring and I didn't know, and I wasn't clear on the data. Anyway, let's move on to you. But I just. I'm curious after listening to that, your analysis simplifier.

Well, this is. This is all this. These are the conversations I have. This is what I talk about all day. I'm endlessly fascinated by this. I'm endlessly like, this is the stuff to me. And frankly, I think this is the stuff that actually matters. Because if you can recognize that all this other stuff takes care of itself and again, talk to me is meaningless without doing anything about. It's meaningless. So my partner for my new company, he's in strategic coach 10x with me. His name is Mark Fujiwara. So I've literally met him one time, spoken with him.

He's a great guy. Great.

A great guy. Well, he's third in empathy. He's third in empathy, and I'll get to that.

So I'm an 8, 6, 7, 1. Colby, he is a 1596. He's the only one I've never met another one fact finder, ever. He's a one. So his. His top three strength finders are competition, maximizer, empathy. So highest level, winning with empathy, I'm 34th out of 34th and empathy and 33 out of 32 or 33 out of 34 and includer. But he's collaborative empathy, and then with print, I'm an 8, 3. He's a 3, 8. So unconsciously, we're motivated by the same thing. So it's just. It just works. And I was talking to him the other day because we talk all the time, and I'm like, why is this so easy? This isn't. This isn't hard.

Because he's does all the backs. Like, if I tried to. If I tried to. I'll give you a funny story.

My. My dad's the last living brother. He passed away a long time ago, but the last living brother, he kind of, like, was like a. Kind of like a father to me after my dad died and he was married. He was very married for about 70 years. So on my wedding day, I was asking all these people, various ages of like, you know, married for one year, five years, 30 years and 70 years. So I was asking him his advice for, like, you know, how to. How to be a good husband. And. And so he told me two things. He said one, said, one, always put your wife. My wife's name is Sarah. Always put Sarah. Always put Sarah before yourself. Okay, that's good. And then the second thing he said was, never touch the thermostat.

So I treat my company like the backstage stuff, the new one. I don't touch it. That's the thermostat. I don't go anywhere near it. And Mark handles all that stuff. And it's that. And again, I listen to someone like that who has all this wisdom, and then I just do something about it.

Yeah, that's great. That's great. Yeah. It really comes down to.

This is the nuanced part of how youth is wasted on the young. Right. Is once we finally know who we are, what we're great at and what we aren't, and where we should. Just not particularly where we have the hard nose. I think joy in life, happiness does come from having the hard nose. And like I was mentioning earlier, when I know that an aggravation above 5.0001 is a hard no, and I can smell it and feel it, like, you know, whether it's work, relationships, any kind of discomfort and. And that has nothing to do with being strong and having grit, in my opinion. It really has.

So.

Well, let's dig into your genius. I really want to spend some time there. So what I'd love to do right now is shift our focus. I'm going to show a couple examples of your work, and then I'd like to actually iterate with you and demonstrate your genius. So I'm going to put you on the spot and I'm going to show our screen. So if you're watching. If you're watching this, you'll be able to see it. If you are listening to this, I'm going to describe it. And I brought up a screen right now, Justin, you can see it. This is one of your clients, Mike Malatesta. So there's a couple of them, and I want you to choose which one. We can either do the Jeff Bedu story.

We had this ESPN thing. There's the attitude of gratitude, a Forbes article, the Schuler, or the. Yeah, you had two Shuler foundations. So pick one to deconstruct. And then we'll actually do it.

Sure, I can do that. So at the highest level, there's no competition, only collaboration. There's no, there's no comp. I mean, I haven't done outbound sales or, you know, gimmicks. And I mean, there's just, there's no need for that. And I mean, what I mean by that is like, my company's entire process is on the website. There's no tricks or like, this is what my company does. I was a journalist for 20 years and created my entire business model based on how PR firms annoyed me for 20 years. So I, I, I have no idea what PR firms do. I was just annoyed. And again, I had zero business background when I started my first company. Zero. Like, I didn't even know what an entrepreneur was. I had no idea. And again, I'm not a business owner. I don't, you know, I'm just living in my zone of genius. So with that background, like, you know, that's the story on Mike and then the first story on Schuler. Those are the stories that my firm does.

You know, and the reason why it's a link is because as a journalist, you get all these useless emails with all these attachments, these useless press releases. You just get these useless press releases. As a journalist, I would get hundreds of these useless press releases from people I didn't know hundreds of times a day. So that's annoying. That's a problem. And then, you know, so created a solution to it, solved it. Successful global company. So, you know, my firm has partners around the world, all verticals except politics, because it's the opposite of visionary. Abundance, investment, mindset. And doesn't matter how big the company is. That's. It doesn't, doesn't matter. My company just solves the problem. So anyway, I take the link on Mike and, you know, pitch it out all over the place, and he'll be in Forbes soon, and he's been on all these amazing podcasts and other shows and, and, you know, the same thing with, you know, Schuler or Jeff Badu or Greg Washington. It's, you know, they end up on ESPN or Chicago Tribune or WGN News or Inside Higher Education, all that kind of stuff. So, I mean, the reason why it's a link just to land the plane is that it's an easier vessel to send via Twitter message or LinkedIn message or text message or Facebook message or whatever that is. And journalists and hosts like you, they're like, oh, thank you, thank you for, thank you for sending. They're not annoyed by it, they're grateful for it because it cuts through the noise and nonsense of traditional press releases which talk about what you do and nobody cares. They want to know about who you are. And I mean, your story's excellent. I think I was born with a pretty good story. And so that's what people care about. All this other stuff. They're not going to talk to you about that unless they care about who you are first.

Okay. So I'm going to.

Apply my interpretation of what you just said and describe what I heard. But also knowing what you do, I'm going to decode it a little bit because I think the genius in what you do.

Say that again, Justin.

My favorite thing about you is how you do that because you listen and then you decode things. It's fascinating to me.

Oh, thanks.

What I heard and what I learned. Your secret sauce, Justin, is first of all, again, I'm going to get to the. Let's make the assumption already that you're really good at knowing what the hook is and what to focus on and what the story needs to be and then turning that into something interesting. So, for example, I'm going to use Mike as an example here. This Malatesta. So Mike Malatesta is an entrepreneur, author. And what you do is you'll sit down, you'll meet with someone, you'll listen to them and say, that's the hook. That's what we're going to go out in, and you understand their business and what they want to do. So in the case of Mike here, you created what became a page that is on his website. And the hook is, the framing is. In his new book, Mike Malatesta notes, a successful entrepreneur's worst enemy is himself. And then a little blurb, okay. The successful Milwaukee entrepreneur said the death of his business partner in a fire was the turning point in his journey. That's a good lead to get me to want to read more. Yeah, it's really good.

And basically you got a nice picture. Here he is with his book, right? And then him in his environment, in his office. Clearly the story, the transformation, and this is short. And then there's a picture of the book and an action page. And then what you do is you find and target specific.

Writers and pitch them, but you'll just send the link. So that way it's not a big long, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Here's the link. Here's a good story. That's it. That's literally.

There you go. And do you frame it any further than that. No, you don't.

No. Let me dovetail that Mike, because.

Okay, good.

This is important because this is a prime example. Podcasts like these are actually replacing mainstream media in terms of relevance and importance. I mean they just are because the host is an entrepreneur, not a journalist. So they're coming from a place of abundance, not scarcity. So you're going to ask questions that a journalist would never, you would, they would never even think of asking. And then two, you can do a deep dive on someone. Like you really get to know the person. It's not a drive by interview. And then. Yeah, right, you're going to keep not. And then three, you know, the audience might not be as large quantity wise, but it's a far more qualified like it's, you know, people like us are listening to this. Regular humans aren't. Okay, so, so how, how I've dovetailed because I see the patterns and then I actually do something about it is now my mike's a 5582. So that's his Colby. So I'll be like 5582 meets 23295. And that's the intro. Here's the link. That's it. But I mean that's literally the intro. That's, that's it. And again, there's no competition. There's no competition. Like, go ahead. If anyone wants to use that or what the process that my firm has done, go for it. Perfect. It's fine. Like it's literally right there. It doesn't matter to me because, because.

You know, folks don't have my network and then they don't have, they don't have the mindset to do this anyway. So it's fine. So go ahead and take it.

I love that. So I'm going to, I'm going to continue on with, with what I see and back to the genius, because I've, I've done a ton of media, I do a fair amount of messaging, but I don't touch the publicity side. That's where you and I have an opportunity to really collaborate. And we'll talk about what we're going to do after this because there's a big takeaway for everyone watching, listening. And what I see.

Is.

Again what you'll do is you'll discover the story, figure it out, create the target, put together a.

Story, publish it on the corporate website, do outreach and say here's a great story. Which, you know, they click on it, they look at it and they say yes or no. Basically, you know, it's pretty easy. Nothing's worse than living in the. In the in between or the middle. It's. It's living in the know and is always better and hard yeses and hard nos are a better way to live in my opinion. But then.

From there.

I'm curious from a call to action perspective how involved do you get in serving? So for example I'm going to give you a challenge that I want to solve right now and I want to iterate with you and kind of co create.

So that might be the best way to set this up. But do you have any other commentary feedback before I do a simulated let's pretend together.

Well in terms of the intros like in terms of the intros to media like it's so simplified that most of the folks I intro folks to they want to do the story. But then it takes, I mean how long has it taken us to do this interview? I mean it takes time, it takes time to actually do the interviews and it takes time to get published. I mean it's definitely a process. So there's and I'm, I'm 8671 so I have high follow through so I make sure always check in hey if you know these interviews actually gotten done so that's part of it but really that the own then the only other thing is that the partner puts the story on her his website under news or blog. So the link is their property, not my firm's.

Okay, so let's go through your process because part of my goal in doing this interview is first of all I wanted to just interview because I want to do it in a while. I also want to do what I do really well which is send you some opportunities. And when we're done we're going to do one of my favorite activities that's been incredibly valuable and profitable. I call it a referral swap. So what we're going to do is you and I created a list together of a bunch of people who I think can benefit from what you do. So I'm going to and I'm going to make introductions. We're going to do what I call money phone videos. So you made a list of people you want to introduce me to. And then I made a list of people I'm going to introduce you to. And when we're done here because I have that to follow through we're actually going to make videos and it's basically going to be hey, this is my good friend Justin Breen. We just finished Doing a podcast interview. I wanted to introduce you to him because I think he can help you get your message out to the world, get media that will result in more clicks, more visibility, you being familiar, and.

Generate more business. Grow your business. Right. That's essentially it. And he happens to be a master at simplifying a message and finding a great hook that you don't see yourself, because we are all pills in a bottle that can't read the label. That is effectively what my intro for you will be. And I think that was about a minute. Okay. And then it'll end for you.

Here's. I mean, again. So I'm a simplifier here. Hi. This is Mike Koenigs. He's one of the greatest multipliers I've ever met. Yeah, so that's it.

For someone who doesn't know what a multiplier is. What would that mean?

Everyone I'm introducing you knows who a multiplier is.

Okay. So they're going to be what we call. They have a coach vocabulary. But for someone who doesn't. For someone who's listening to this right now, who might not have gone through coach, what would you. How would you describe that if you were going to go a little bit deeper?

Great. Thank you for. Thank you for doubling down on that. Because I'm floating around up here, sometimes I need to land the plane.

Would love to introduce you to my friend, Mike Koenigs. He's able to take one simple idea and multiply it to the world in ways you never could have possibly imagined. Is that better? I'm serious. I actually like that. For me, it's very difficult to do that.

All right, well, here's what we're going to do then. I'm going to tell you, describe a challenge that I want to solve right now, and let's build a story together. So this is the selfish part of the show. I'm literally just going to ask you some questions and we'll iterate. And I think this is. I want everyone else who's listening to experience this and go, holy crap. I'm going to give Justin a call right now.

Because I know he can make a huge difference in my business. So that's my service to you. And that, by the way, is at Brepic. B R E P I C L L C dot com. All right, there's the shameless plug.

Nice radio voice.

There you go, ladies and gentlemen. Let's get going.

Monster trucks.

Yes, do that. Do that the rest of the interview.

Yeah, that's right. Okay. So here's the pitch.

I have been doing something I call Vision day now for several years after I sold the last few businesses. And.

It usually involves one of two. I'm going to say one of three core things. So.

It'S. And I'm going to tell the story. Okay. So, for example, this week, I worked with a client. I've actually known him for 10 years, but this could serve anyone. But he had a recent exit, so he sold his business, had a big payday, and when I said, what are you going to do next? He's like, I'm not sure. That's a problem. And anyone who's ever sold their business before knows that being in a position of having a lot of money can cause a lot of problems.

Yeah. So this is Mike. You're looking for your next purpose in life. He can help you find that. That's it. Yeah.

Okay. That's a great hook. Very good. I'm going to continue going down the path because we'll evolve this and turn it into what the story might look like.

Love it.

So here's what happened. I told Joey, I said, I've got a really good idea for you. So the backstory was, in his particular case.

He had been running a franchise company. In this case it's called mosquito authority for 15 years. He had a couple opportunities to sell. They fell through, and then he got connected to a private equity firm. They went through a year of due diligence. It almost fell apart multiple times. Like, any time, the due diligence sucks and it's hard. And like, he would say, when they reached out to me, to him, he didn't even know what EBITDA was.

Okay.

And so. And so he is a very typical business owner. You know, you're an entrepreneur. You start a business, you create value, you create income for yourself, your family, create some jobs, provide something. But when it comes to what are you going to do next? You might have a story in your head of, I'd like to sell this someday, but you don't know what you don't know. And when a business owner goes through the due diligence process, they have no idea what's going to happen. Oftentimes, like, they asked, well, when do you think you can close? Do you think we can do it in a month? And he's like, sure, having no idea. The preparation.

He went through, the education, learning all this stuff, getting to the point of finally exiting. And along their way, there were so many bumps and hurdles and hiccups. He had partners. He had Some challenges with convincing certain people that he had to have on the bus to make this happen, stay on the bus. And ultimately got not only a great education, but at the end managed to keep a chunk of equity in the business. The private equity firm gave him money and other people, right? And then he gets what's known as a second bite of the apple, meaning when the PE firm does what it's going to do, they're going to invest, they're going to grow and sell it again. He gets to participate another time. And I turned to Joey and I said, I know exactly how to reinvent you listen to this. And by the way, I have a way for you to get paid six different ways. And of course he's like, that sounds good. And it's not about the money, right? But it's about what happens next. So what occurred is.

I said there are Joey's out there right now. And he said he loves working with franchise businesses. And I did a little bit of research. There's about 3,500 of them in the United States. So I knew the market right away. One of my partners did a data scrape. So we know who they all are. We've already identified them, the CEO. So boom, target audience. And then the offer is as follows. And this is basically the outbound campaign, which we also created, and the videos and the sales webinar. And it goes like this. Hi, Mr. Business Owner, my name is Joey Osborne and I recently sold my franchise company, Mosquito Authority to a private equity firm. And I would like to help you get purchase too. I've developed a system. I've been through the hurdles. I know the language of private equity firms and I can make introductions to companies that would love to buy you if you'd like. I'm more than willing to have a brief conversation with you, see if you're a right fit for me and I'm a right fit for you, no obligation. And if I can help you on that path, you know, essentially this is what I'm doing. And I only have space for four to six companies that I work with per year. That's effectively the pitch. Okay, and the other side of this is we put together a pitch for private equity firms which is, hi, my name is Joey Osborne. I recently got acquired by, I can't remember the name of the company. It's a big firm.

And you have a big problem. Number one, there's a lot of money and a lot of competition out there. And finding firms that have value to buy buy is difficult. And you have to Educate business owners, which takes a lot of time. I would like to give you pre screened, pre vetted businesses that are a right fit for you. And that's what I do. I work with business owners that educate them. I blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So what we ended up doing is creating a new business. The pitch, the videos, a whole bunch of content, lots of tools that someone needs to know. So for example, one of the trainings that we give you are the five non obvious things business owners need to know before they sell their business. And the other one, it's a scorecard of the 12 most critical pieces of data any buyer needs to know in order to acquire you. So in three days we created the business, named it, crafted a logo, did all the content. I created a podcast interview article. And now all that's left is like. And it's in motion right now, a landing page and the emails are written. I mean literally. And then while we were together on the second day, we looked through his network of non obvious connections, did some outreach and engaged two people who are already interested in working with them. So and this could be a half a million dollars worth of business like within a week. So.

And the way he gets paid, there's fees. He can get a percentage of increased revenue while he's working with the business, Fantom stock and the company, the PE firm will pay him, that is us. He can get a piece of the business on the opposite side. And we've already come up with some ways to get paid by the PE firms who want to be, who want intros. You know, it's a small engagement fee, so they have some skin in the game. And then there's another way to actually turn businesses IP into valuable products or for licensing as well. So anyway, there's about seven different ways to get paid. So now that you heard all that, pitch it back to me in Justin language.

Yeah, we simplified the highs and lows of closing in an ideal outcome. So you don't have to.

Okay. And do you have to address the who this is for what? How would you address the. If you are a blank.

And you don't even know, know that some, a lot of these founders like what Joey would say. If we were talking to the Joey of yesteryear, Joey is like, yeah, I'd love to sell my business. I don't know if, if I'm ready. I don't know if it's time. In his mind, he didn't even know if this business had any value. It was like that. It's like, and what's this worth? So he didn't know what the process was. He certainly had heard of a private equity firm. But what's the difference between being acquired, being bought, having a private equity firm go in the concept of what he calls the second bite of the apple. In other words, what's the model?

And, you know, you don't need all that stuff up front to hook someone, but in my experience, you want to address a bunch of stuff. So someone raises their hand and says, I am exactly in that spot right now. So if you were going to take another stab at addressing the market in the intro, what would you say?

Are you ready to sell your franchise? And is the value? Is it. This is hard for me. Are you ready to sell your franchise and what is its true value in the marketplace?

Great.

And then let's do the what if. So if we took it the next step. What if in three days or less, you would know what you're worth? Understand the language of businesses that want to acquire you, identify who they are and speak to someone and start a sales conversation knowing you can get.

The maximum value possible for your business.

Yep. Yeah, that's the subhead. That's the subhead after the lead. Yep.

And then how would you. If you were. I call this channeling. So when you kind of start telling the story, how would you set it up if you had, like, the first couple of paragraphs? You know, once upon a time, there was someone just like you who wanted what you want, has the problems you have. Along came a wizard named Gandalf who showed you the way. You slayed the dragon together, married the princess and lived happily ever after.

Yeah. Joey didn't know his franchise was worth, you know, $80 million until. Until he cashed the check. Something like that. Something like that, yeah.

All right. That's good. That's good.

Yeah. Right? Yeah, it's easy.

And then if you were going to. Now, our target audience, obviously, are franchise owners, although we talk to other business owners as well. And then on the opposite side, it's private equity firms. We want to build a stable base, let's say, of 25, who want vetted deals. And our ideal goal would be to charge them. It wouldn't be a lot of money, but some skin in the game with a promise. You know, it's basically your. We're going to give you your money back if we don't put good deals in front of you. But it'd be a few thousand bucks a month so they remain engaged in and they show up and all we need to know from them is what is their acquisition criteria? So we put real deals in front of them.

Yeah. So again, talk is meaningless without execution. So my newest company, Private wealth magazine, which is that, you know, basically way bigger deal than Forbes, they just did a huge article on my company, which I'm very thankful for, by the way. But then the, you know, the editor is like, oh, yeah, when you have folks that are good fits, introduce them. So that would be the number one. That would be the. And they reached out to me. I never, never. But that's my point. That's. That would be number one. That'd be the perfect. I mean, the people that read that, most of them are eight, eight figure revenue folks. So that's your, that's your target market. Yeah, there we go.

Okay, so Private wealth magazine in this case, and you've got readers who are looking for deals.

Yeah, those are the. Yes, that's the. You can see the. I put the link in our show notes or whatever. If you want to show that to people about the, about the new company. But that's, that's your market. And it's great to be on TV and newspapers and stuff. But again, it's things like that and podcasts like this that are. That's the market now for people like us. That's the market.

Yeah.

I think one thing that I like to say to everyone I work with, and this is something I learned from Gay Hendrix, who wrote the Big Leap and I do a podcast of the same name, is.

The secret.

To creating your own luck and being lucky is to open yourself up to receiving more.

That's good. Hold on one second. Oh, yeah. So one of the chapters in my book is being lucky is part of the process, but you have to put yourself in the position to be lucky. So that's the same thing said in a different way.

Yes. And I do a ritual whenever I'm working with someone. It's our first thing we do and we get together, which is, it's a heart opening, mind opening exercise. And the question I ask is, are you willing to receive all that the universe wants to give to you?

And that. It's a very profound question because when you realize that the reason you don't have more, whatever more is, is because you aren't open to it. You don't know how to receive. And we as founders, as entrepreneurs are used to our grit and our oftentimes our traumas that are limiters of thinking big. One of the biggest lessons I ever learned I can remember it was when I was acquired the first time. So I had this company called Digital Cafe. We're one of the first digital marketing agencies. We got acquired by Campbell Mathune, which at the time was a billion dollar a year agency in Minneapolis. And they were owned by ipg, the Interpublic Group, a huge conglomerate that owned tons of agencies, massive organizations. So we went through double due diligence, which sucked. But after 10 years of, you know, the story I tell is that business cost me my first marriage. I was traumatized. I was living on credit cards. I was so broke at one point I was living on a gas card, a super super America gas card, Eating cheat, you know, gas station cheese and crackers. And I walked with so much shame all the time. It was very, very challenging. And so the net net is.

I wanted to.

When we got acquired, the guy who basically was in charge, my new boss, walked in one day and he said, it's called Christmas time. You can hire anyone you want. You can buy anything you want. Let's figure out how to create a massive business. And I basically was dumbstruck with a sense of terror. I didn't know how to think that big. I didn't have the capacity because I was always operating within the Holy crap, I've got 500 bucks in my checking account. Even though we're doing business with, you know, Hollywood, it was just like this constant struggle for cash flow.

You're still on Eagle Lake.

Yeah, I totally was. That was my mindset. And, and so that, I think is a really, really critical element of this is are you willing to receive more? And again, any comments, thoughts? I did all the app in there, but I thought it was a relevant story.

Well, again, I'm a journalist, so most of them, I don't really talk at all unless someone asks me questions. So I'd rather listen. I mean, I've spent my whole life listening to people like you. And you know, again, I'm dead last in empathy on strength finders, dead last for people like you. I am so empathetic. It is off the chart. Like, that's why I opened this with the Eagle Lake thing, because I. I feel like, I feel that, like it's such a high level of you and Eagle Lake looking outside at the snow and ice, like, oh man, I got to get out of here. I grew up in North Shore, Chicago. I mean, people like us are aliens with their own family, community and verticals. Usually. Usually, but not always.

And I just couldn't understand why people didn't Understand what I was talking about. And I didn't understand what they were complaining about. I never understood. I just had to find people like you. I had to find people like you. And I'm like, aliens. Aliens. Yeah. So all I do is simplify into patterns. So I have, in most of my days, talking to the top entrepreneurs in the world, not business owners, entrepreneurs. There's a fundamental difference. I have not met one entrepreneur at the highest level. And I wrote an article for Inc. Magazine on this, by the way. But that has not overcome at least one of the following four things. Most or two or three. I mean, you're definitely in all four. I talk to a lot of all fours. So the four things are bankruptcy or potential bankruptcy, two, depression, three, the highest level. Yeah. Everybody nods like you. Everyone nods when I say this, even though if they can't see you nodding. So bankruptcy or potential bankruptcy. Two, depression, three, the highest level of anxiety that you can imagine. And four, likely and or possible traumatic experience as a child, young adult. So most humans or business owners, they use those as excuses their whole life. Entrepreneur at the highest level. Eh? Figure it out. Figure it. So I have endless. I'm three of those four. The only one, knock on wood, I've never had to worry about is bankruptcy or potential bankruptcy. And, you know, the other thing I'll dovetail is I'm a dad who happens to be an entrepreneur. I'm not an entrepreneur who happens to be a dad. I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever let entrepreneur life destroy my family life. I will never be that. It just won't. And frankly, it's because I hear stories of what you're talking about. I'm like, I'm just not. So, I mean, I'm horribly sad that you had to go through something like that, but you provided a great lesson for people like me then, like, it doesn't have to be that way. And for me, it will never be that. It'll never be like that, ever.

Yeah. And I would say, you know, admittedly, well here. So I'll just give you the positive, which is.

You know, again, the framing of the story, I always say, is my first business nearly cost me my. Well, it cost me my first marriage, my second and third nearly cost me my life, my second marriage and relationship with my only child. And.

It took cancer and a series of stacked traumas after that that I hid very well because I spent a lot of time in the public eye. And to show weakness meant what I believe was losing followers, employees, a brand. I had my ego so dug in.

Well, you were winning the wrong game then. Now you're winning the right game.

Yeah. And it was ultimately, I believe, driven by epigenetic DNA level.

Poverty, fear that runs in on both sides. My mother and father's side, you know, they both grew up very, very with very little and did the best they could with what they had. And, you know, other than having a great dad, a great mom who loved me very much, we didn't have any resources to speak of. It was like, if you wanted resources, you went out and figured out how to make money and get it yourself. So I started working on it as 8 years old. You know, figure it out. Yeah. And so I think I agree with you. I think that big four is a massive. If I were doing what you were doing for me, I think this would be a great article for lead generating, which are.

Do you have the gritty four that makes you an incredible entrepreneur.

I think it's the formula. I mean, I always go again, I simplify into patterns, but I think it's the formula. So you go through that. I mean, at the end of 2018, I'd made more money in one year than. I mean, I was a journalist. There was never intent to be. And I'd made more money. My wife and I had just been on the Today show. I'd never been more miserable in my life. At the end of 2018, I'm like, well, okay, but here's my point. More money doesn't equal more happiness. So, okay, that's good learning experience. And the, and the example I always go back to, I think about this so much. And you do a podcast with him. But Dan Sullivan, just think about. Because he talks about it a lot. Think about being divorced and bankrupt on the same day.

I mean, it's like, it's comically bad, but maybe that's the formula to get to that. Like, that might be the, like, you have to go through such extreme pain and, and like suffering, like deep suffering, and then come through. I mean, entrepreneurs like us, I strongly feel this way because, you know, I just simplify everything. We're the most damaged people with the best coping skills. The very most damaged people with the highest level coping skills. That's what I think entrepreneurs at the highest level are. And then I married a human, thank God. I mean, that's why I'll never let. I mean, my wife's. She's a pediatrician, so she's. Empathy, warmth, love. It's, you know, we. That big article came out on my new company last week. And then officially launched it. And so, you know, pretty good. That's pretty good professional week. And then. And then my wife comes right after it came out. She's like, justin, Justin, you got. Come over here. Come over here. Like, well, what's wrong? She goes, our puppies are eating a dead squirrel in the back. You got to go get them. And that's. I'm like, I'm so glad. I'm, like, so thankful for her because, like, she just makes me somewhat of a human. I mean, somewhat non alien. And the first thing I do every day, every single day is do a grateful journal to her every single day, because I am so without my wife. Bad situation. Bad. I'm just so thankful for her. And then she's created these amazing children that are like, weird mixes of her lovewarm doctor brain and then my wackadoo brain. So it's really interesting to watch them evolve. And again, I will never let entrepreneur life destroy that, ever.

Yeah, that is very profound. So my interpretation of what you just said, first of all, is, and I completely agree, entrepreneurs are very deeply wounded. And part of our success formula is.

Going through a process of self destruction in order to achieve and get past that wounding and that trauma. Finally, finally realizing that what you think you wanted isn't what you needed.

Oh, my God, that is so good, Mike.

Wow, that's a writer downer, huh?

That's a writer. And I don't write down a lot of things, but you actually have to go through the process of self destruction to learn what you actually don't want. Boy, that is. Wow.

I'm putting that in my next story.

Okay, I've got two more for you.

Yeah, go.

So. So another one is being married to a caretaker who can manage those wounds. So my wife Vivian is very similar to yours, right?

Foundation. Well, here's what's interesting, because I always ask people like us, I always. And I know you have one more, I apologize, but I'm an activator. And then I, you know, I just result. The. You're activated too. But the. So I always ask people like us because I see the patterns. I go, so is your spouse a school teacher or a social worker or a pediatrician or a nurse or a police officer or a pilot? And they go, how did you know that? I go, because 95% of the time, you know, aliens like us are married to, you know, a human. And actually, strategic coach is the exception. Dan married a fellow nine. Quick start. You know, he's a 10, she's a nine, and then strategic Coach is the result of that. But 95% of the time it's people, you know, And I've been on Couples Connection and Strategic Coach. So it's all these 7, 8, 9, 10 quick starts. Married to 1, 2, 3, 4 quick starts. Humans. And thank God for that, by the way. Thank God.

Yeah, yeah. Someone to ground you. And, you know, and in Vivian's case, doing philanthropic work, being the daughter of Holocaust survivors.

There you go.

Something else interesting because.

Oh, my dad was an attorney in the Nuremberg trial. I should talk to her about that.

Yeah, yeah. So that's pretty intense. But also.

I'm very, very lucky. So I think the core operating system, which you and I share and Dan and I share, I always say, like, if you get a Dan Sullivan operating system, you're way, way ahead of the game. It's a constantly evolving.

System that keeps the bumpers up on the bowling alley. And.

And I will also go so far as to say.

Either if you have the strategic coach Dan Sullivan operating system, you're way ahead of the game. A secondary, or you could say it's a primary one that I inherited is I married a nice Jewish girl. And I gotta say, I think Judaism. Right? Yeah, exactly. I think Judaism is.

One of the most effective operating systems imaginable and interesting. And here's the story I often tell.

That goes along with that. And I didn't appreciate it at the level I did until I started dating Vivian and she had me read. I can't remember the name of the book, but it's a. It's.

What's the process when you leave.

One, when you're forced out of one place and you go to the next and it's sort of like a long journey. The 40 year journey that Moses took out of Egypt.

I know what you're talking about, but.

I don't know, it's. Whatever that word is, that's the name of the book. Anyway, she said, you have to read this if you're going to date me. You got to understand my roots and where I came from. Oh, I was hardcore, so. But here, here's my takeaway. My interpretation, which may or may not be accurate, but it's a story I like to tell, which is when the Jews left after the Holocaust and got planted into Israel, basically it was a desert, okay. And you're surrounded by hostile neighbors who didn't want you to be alive and didn't think you have any right to be there. And politics aside, here's what happened. It took a couple of decades and A crappy desert. Suddenly, one side was a lush tropical paradise with gardens in abundance and hard work, and another place is a crappy desert. And all I have to do is just say, look at the operating system. One is designed to fight and argue and spite itself. And the other operating system is about education, respect of children, family, elders, and creating abundance. And when you look at Hollywood, you know, there's. For many years, Jews couldn't own property. So what do you do when you can't own property? Put on a show. Entertain so you can create a business from information and entertainment and own nothing. And to own a theater of the mind is one of the greatest achievements possible. Because what are we living in anyway? It's a grand hallucination. We are surrounded by stories. So I think my bringing this back home is you get to participate in the most valuable form of real estate imaginable, which is theater of the mind and crafting great stories. So if I were going to create your headline, the Justin Breen headline, it would be something on top of that.

Well, you know, I've listened to you and Dan and you on other shows. I frankly, I think this is the best I've heard from you ever. This is the most real and raw, and I'm honored to be a part of that in some capacity. And, man, I mean, you know, there's. There's again, we're like the same person in a way, with different Colbys. But I talked to a lot of Mormons, lds, Latter Day Saints.

Yeah.

And I. I guess technically I was raised Jewish and my wife is Jewish and our kids are going to Sunday school and all that. I'm a student of all religions, I guess, And I talk to a lot of LDs. Not NJOOs, but. And I always say, like, the two best entrepreneurial religions are Jewish and Jewish and Mormon.

Yeah.

And I was talking to. I was talking to a Mormon. I'm like, oh, well. He's like, oh, there's a fundamental difference. I go, oh, please tell me, because I'm always looking for things like what?

Yeah, you don't have this one. I got it. So, yeah, go for it.

So he's like, well, and you've kind of said it already. He's like, well, the Jews focused on trades. They couldn't get an education, they couldn't land, so that, you know, finance, attorneys, entertainment. They focus on that. And I'm like, oh, that's interesting. He's like, well, the Mormons focus on relationships. Mormon mission. You knock on 5,000 doors to find five new Mormons I'm like, oh, that's interesting. Thank you. I'm a Mormon.

I'm a Jewish Mormon. So one of the folks in coach, Alan Olson, he's a great guy. You'd like him.

I love Alan. He is one of my favorite, favorite people. Just heart.

Yeah, he sent me. But, yeah. So I started reading that because I'm fascinated by all different religions, but especially lds, because Jews and Mormons driven to the brink, the very brink, and then you figure it out. So good entrepreneurs. Good.

I'm going to give you my interpretation. And then I want to.

Let's land this jet. So here's my interpretation. One is, Jews don't proselytize. So if you want to become a Jew, they're like, nope, we don't want you. You know, it'll be like, you got.

To fight for it, be the buyer. The Jews are the totally. You gotta.

You gotta go through an awful lot of educating.

Okay, man, that's hilarious.

On the other hand, and I'm not saying one's better or worse, but on the other hand, here's what's great about lds, right? They pound on a bunch of doors selling something nobody wants, selling it in a way that no one wants to receive.

Okay?

And it's like, selling Jesus is really hard, except to the broken, broken or people on the edge often, you know, the desperate. And it's. I'm not saying always, but it's a lot easier to say, you know, believe in something when you got nothing.

And.

That'S why they're amazing salespeople. You want them doing hunting and setting for you with relationships, connecting with people and filling up calendars because they don't take anything personally. Because when you got the door slammed into that many times makes for great salesmanship.

Mike. I reached out to 5,000 people to find my first five clients. I mean, that's the. And I'm just the buyer now, so. Oh, my God. I was Mormon and now I'm Jewish within that respect. Holy cow. This is what I'd like. This is all I do all day, is have these. I mean, this one's recorded, but that's what I do all day.

That's a high frequency operating system you have there.

That was good, man.

Yeah. I think the. You know, the. My only take on it, my only judgment is I find proselytizing to be a form of psychic terrorism.

And that is, I don't want to hear about your stuff unless I ask for it first. You've got to ask for my permission or intrigue Me, which goes back to entertain me first, you know, pull me in, don't force it on me. And I think Buddhists. That is a point of view of. That's at least the first time I heard of psychic terrorism. And it may have been someone's interpretation. I don't know if that's a. Something specifically written, but I do have a lot more respect.

Through that lens. And again, it's not good, bad, right or wrong. It's just an angle and a process. But LDS is the fastest growing Christian religion in the world.

Oh, I didn't know that.

Because it's effective at its system is effective.

So process.

Yep.

Well, here's real quick, Mike, your podcast is your way of entertaining people and drawing them in. That's what this is.

Yeah, that is my goal. I'll tell you again, just to be super raw and real. What I fear at times is so like, who the hell wants to listen to another middle aged white guy? And how do I create clear differentiation that creates engagement and more subscriptions with something that is quite nuanced on a lot of levels. You know, this is not, at least through my lens. To understand Dan Sullivan requires an investment of thought, an investment of attention in a short attention span world that we live in. And it's not important to me at all to be loved or liked by many. I went through that phase of my life and I found it to be very empty, wide and shallow has zero value. I don't care about likes. You know, the fundamental basis of TikTok and Facebook is fake. You know, I'm not interested in fake boobs, fake lips or fake butts at all. Kardashians to me are the antithesis of all things that are good, other than genius entrepreneurs, damn good entertainers, but operating on the lowest frequency possible. Having said that.

I would rather have narrow and deep and fewer. And I'm much more content with that at my age. But I do have two final questions for you. One is, if you were to summarize what happened in this episode and what the greatest takeaways have been, what would you say? And then the second question will be, what's your big ask? And where should people go to spend more time with you?

Yeah, I mean, I do a lot of media. This is, you know, top five interviews I've ever been a part of, for sure. I mean, so that's one. That's the big takeaway and very grateful for that.

I mean, this is my life. I mean, this is being a dad. In this, there's nothing else for me, I mean, this is it.

So, I mean, my website.

You can learn more about it.

Well, damn it, boy. I'm going to have to close for you. I'm going to do the closing.

Yeah.

You're a better person than I am.

I'm just not that. That's not me.

I know it. But. But my. My goal too is I. I want people to experience your genius like I get to. And for one thing, if it isn't absolutely obvious, Justin is a great man. He's a great dad.

And he's really, really smart. He's got a beautiful Rolodex. He loves to connect people. I love the introductions you make. And when you get inside his galaxy or his universe, that's one of the first things he does is he connects you with valuable people. And he has a genius ability to know what your story needs to be in order to connect with the people you want to be known by and what to be known for. Dan said to me not long ago, he said.

A great question to ask is why should I know you? And holy cow, it was profound. And I think Justin is the guy who can help you determine what that is. So to learn more, spend some time with Justin and have a conversation because he's a relationship guy. I'd like to you to go to B R E p I c llc.com brepic llc.com. is there anything else we should end with, my friend?

Well, again, I think that's. I think it's the best I've ever heard you, Mike. So if I have a gift, it's allowing people like you to really be raw and real. So very honored to be able to do that.

Yeah, it's been my pleasure. We'll have more of them.

So.

Well, this is Capability Amplifier. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and we'll see you in another episode episode very, very soon. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching and make sure you share it with some friends who you think can benefit from this.

Bye bye.